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NBA Tells Players To Place Nice On Twitter

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 07: In this photo illustration, The Twitter logo is displayed on a mobile device as the company announced it\'s initial public offering and debut on the New York Stock Exchange on November 7, 2013 in London, England. Twitter went public on the NYSE opening at USD 26 per share, valuing the company\'s worth at an estimated USD 18 billion. (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)File photo of Twitter logo. (Credit: Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (CBSMiamiAP) — The NBA has cautioned its players to be careful of smack talk on Twitter which may escalate into a full-blown war of words.

The reminder was issued in a memo from the league to all 30 teams. It comes about two weeks after Portland’s Twitter account mocked Dallas’ Chandler Parsons for air balling a 3-point attempt, a tweet that sparked a back-and-forth between Parsons and Blazers guard CJ McCollum.

Parsons later said it was all in good fun.

In the memo, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum didn’t specifically reference that exchange but said: “recently … some teams have crossed the line between appropriate and inappropriate.”

The league urged teams to “properly and extensively train” social-media staff members to ensure they know what’s appropriate. Examples the league cited as inappropriate included embarrassing or belittling opponents, and criticizing officiating.